Archive for the ‘imported blogs’ Category

Alright, so I’ve now had my MacBook Pro for about a week, and I’ve gotten so much done to/on it that I’m just flat out impressed. I’ve got a lot of thoughts that I’d like to put down, but I’ll try to keep things simple.

Moving my iTunes library without reimporting. I could have copied over all my MP3 files over to the new MacBook from my home PC, and then just did a discovery with the iTunes application to find all the music again, but I wanted to keep all my ratings, play counts, and other data that is kept by iTunes.
Amazingly enough…I copied over the iTunes folder from my PC to my Mac, and when I started iTunes…EVERYTHING was there. AND …. it all worked. I’m kind of amazed at this, but I’m very happy that this just worked like that.

I can read PDF files with the Preview application included on OS X. I didn’t need (yet…) to download the Adobe Acrobat Reader. I also can print to a PDF file from any application. SWEET! I used to do this on my PC’s with an application call CutePDF…now its just right there on OS X.

I can use Disk Utility, but I think its kinda of lacking in ease of use to burn CD’s and DVD’s. I picked up FireStarter FX, which is Donation-Ware. Pretty good software, and easy to use. I can make CD’s and DVD’s with no problem, AND they are still readable from my PC. I can also make ISO files (or bin/cue if you want) right out of this application. (I’m still looking for an easy way to make ISO’s right from a CD-ROM/DVD though…some of this discs are bootable, and copying the data just won’t work). So I’m planning on throwing these guys a few bucks because I’m real happy with this software.

This was some freeware I use to install on my Windows PC’s. It created a ‘virtual CD-ROM’ drive, that could point to ISO files, and present them to the Windows OS as a real CD-ROM. This saved me a lot of headache, because I no longer needed to carry around all of my CD’s…I could just keep a file on my laptop/desktop and get to the data with a click or two. Well….if you double click an ISO in OS X, you can access it right in your Finder (the equivilent to Windows Explorer).

I used to use this Freeware on Windows to help me with screenshots. I do a lot of this when writing my documentation, so I like something that can just make it easier than hitting Print Screen, (or now ctrl+shift+F3). I found a lovely Widget that I’ll be trying out called ScreenShot Plus. puts the files where I want them, uses the format that I select, and has different options for whole screen, active window, drag a window, or use a timer (unique….I like this one…).

I’ve got an Xbox 360, and was looking for a universal remote, and ended up with this one. Personally, I’ve used a few of these universal remotes, and this is BY FAR the easiest one I’ve ever had to set up (including ‘learning’ commands). Currently, this software does not work with Intel based Macs, but IF I need to change the setting on it before they fix the software, I can always just connect this remote to a Parallels VM if I need to.

So I’ve used MS office for YEARS now. I’m definitely NOT an expert at using all of the many features that were included with the suite. I mean, ok, I know many people use the entire Office Suite together, but I’m not one of those. I figure the most work I do is using Excel for my timesheets and expense reports, Word for keeping track of all my day to day activities in a log, and used Outlook for the calander/contacts/e-mail management. It’s worked well for a while, but I mean….I just don’t use all the features.
OK, so I ended up using Apple Mail, iCal, and the Address Book that are built into OS X to replace my Outlook use. I ended up using some software from a company Little Machines http://www.littlemachines.com/ call Outlook 2 Mac. It cost me $10 US, but worth every penny. I tried doing it for free using freeware, but I just kept missing a couple of things. Using Outlook 2 Mac, I got all my 1-GB of e-mail migrated, all 500 or so contacts, and kept my calender for the last 5 years of appointments (not because I really needed them, but because I could).
For Word and Excel replacements, I use OpenOffice 2. It’s free, and it does the job for me.
OK, now I do use a Parallels Virtual Machine (until VMware releases their VMware Workstation for OS X) to run a VERY limited number of Windows applications for my office, so….I’ve got Word and Excel there as a backup (you know…just in case). Not planning on using it, but IF I have a document from a client that has some kind of issue, at least I’ll be able to get things done in a pinch.

Well, I use Visio for documentation of datacenters, networks, servers, some project flow, and I only use it at work. Since there is no equivalent for OS X that I know of…I have to run this application in the Parallels VM.

I’ve stopped using Internet Explorer a while ago…I’m not really sure how long I’ve been a Firefox user, but I tried to use Safari. A couple of things I liked better about Firefox, so I just downloaded and installed it. Easy switch. Just imported all my bookmarks from my old PC.

In Windows XP, there is no native utilities to make SSH connections to remote devices (servers, switches, routers, SAN arrays, etc), so I use to download this utility and use it all the time. It is freeware for Windows. BUT since OS X is native *nix under the covers, the functionality I needed is right in OS X from the beginning. I did end up missing a couple of features that you just can’t get from the command-line (saved sessions so you don’t have to keep typing your connection information all the time), so I found iTerm and can get most of what I need through that.

Both companies make great Virtualization software. Right now, I’m using Parallels, as VMware hasn’t released their Workstation for OS X just yet. I’m biased to VMware (as I have been using this for quite a few years), so I’m being up front. I use Parallels right now so that I can use my Windows specific software for work (but as you can see, that list is VERY small right now).

Once again, I use an Xbox 360. I use to stream my my MP3 collection, photos, and such from my WIndows XP desktop at home. I found some lovely software called Connect 360 that plugs into iTunes and streams all my MP3s, photos, and video (the video has the same limitations for formats as Windows Media Connect on Windows XP). $20, and worth it.

Here’s some software I used to use on Windows XP so I could securely copy files over to *nix based systems in bulk. It’s freeware, so I used it extensively. I can do this natively from the command line in OS X, but I may end up trying out Fugu.

We’ve all used this in Windows to open archives, but now Windows can open these natively. I use to use this to make Zip files every so often with the Eval copy. Now, the ability to create and extract Zip files is native to OS X, so no problem there.

My Companies Custom Applications

Since these are specifically written for Windows XP, I must use the Parallels VM to use these applications. Can’t work around it.

Now that’s a lot of reading already, so I’ll chime in again later with my general praises of OS X at another time.

So now comes the fun part, right? Gotta figure out how to do all the things that I’ve got to do on a Mac that I do in Windows. Well, the snag is, I’m still in preparations mode, as my Mac has yet to arrive. I’ve been researching lots of things to help me in my trasition, and this time, I’ll be writing about moving my iTunes library from Windows XP to OS X.

So here’s the situation. I have a 55-GB music library. I’ve ripped all of my 900 some odd CD’s, and have them as MP3s on my computer for the last 5 years. I have an iPod which I carry around my whole CD collection around on. I don’t currently use it for pictures, videos, contacts, or calanders, but that will change as I move over to OS X. The MP3s currently reside on my computer, ‘The-Doctor’.

Why not just copy over the files to the Mac, and then use iTunes to discover the files I’ve copied over? Well, I spent about 2.5 years rating all my music while traveling to customer sites. I did this so that I could always have ‘my favorite’ songs with me on my 20-GB iPod (which FINALLY died and was replace with an 80-GB model after 3 years of abuse), and so that I could figure out what I like to listen to a little more. So now that I’ve got 7000 songs rated, and some history about play counts and last play dates, I’d like to keep that information (not only that, but I pride myself on having kept all my metadata correct, and have tested this to the nth degree). If I just copied the files over to the Mac, and imported those songs, I would lose the ratings and play dates and times that I’ve been keeping track of.

So in planning my iTunes migration, I backed up the files that make up my iTunes directory on my Windows machine. Not the MP3′s, as those are already backed up, but the ‘iTunes Library.itl’ and ‘iTunes Music Library.xml’ files (these files make up the iTunes ‘database’. I moved my ‘iTunes Music’ folder to a different directory so that I could do some importing/exporting with the software and not ‘damage’ my MP3 files and their metadata. After the backup of those core files, which contain all the important data about my MP3 library, I’m ready to explore my options for moving around my MP3 Library. I deleted the files left in my iTunes Music folder, and that gives me a clean iTunes database

So I went into my iTunes preference (found under the Edit pull-down menu in Windows) and looked for some settings to tweak to see if there was anything to help me migrate my data. I found something in the ‘Advanced’ tab’s ‘General’ tab. I do NOT have the ‘Keep iTunes’ Music Folder Organized’ check box ticked. ‘I’ want to keep my folders organized (long story, but being anal retentive, I like to have all my Opeth albums under Opeth, not have some songs under Opeth, and some under Opeth & guest Star…). More importantly and relevant to the discussion, is the 2nd checkbox, ‘Copy files to iTunes Music folder when adding to library’. I put a tick in this checkbox to enable the feature and try it out with a SMALL subset of my data. I import the band 311, and some of my compilations (namely Star Wars Soundtrack, Raiders of the Lost Ark Soundtrack, and Judgement Night Soundtracks) because these compilations have ‘Various Artists’, and mulitple artists in their metadata. I was very happy with the results…it kept all the 311 albums under the 311 band folder…it kept all the soundtracks under the ‘Compilations’ folder and did NOT seperate or break them down by ‘artist’ which could have been a mess. the Judgement Night soundtrack has 11 songs, and they are all co-operative efforts between rap and metal bands, so the ‘artist’ metatag has 2 entries, like Biohazard & Onyx. The problem I had was that I lost ALL of my ratings, and other information that I use in iTunes (but all the metadata was right at least). Time to try another way. I clean out my iTunes directory structure, and try again.

So…under the iTunes ‘Advanced’ pull down menu, I found something interesting…’Consolidate Library’. This is actually what solved my problem…I think…
So before adding music to the fresh and clean library, I cleared the ‘Advanced’ tab’s ‘General’ tab, ‘Copy files to iTunes Music folder when adding to library’ setting. I added the same subset of music. I then went to teh ‘Advanced’ pull down menu, and did a ‘Consolidate Libray’ action. It stated…
‘Consolidating your library will copy all of your music into the iTunes Music folder. This cannot be undone.’
Not being concerned at this point about losing data, I clicked the ‘consolidate’ button.

The result was perfect. It maintained the directory structure I spent so much time creating…with NO issues! This leaves me with some ideas on how to migrate my MP3 data, the metadata, as well as the iTunes database with all its information. I’ve got the plan, so now, to see if it will actually perform in the way I expect it to.

The plan is to do the following…I plan to change the default ‘iTunes Music Folder Location’ to point out to my network share out on ‘Tardis’, do a ‘Consolidate Library’ action, and let all my music copy out to the network share. I’m expecting that when I move the iTunes files (the itl and xml files) over to the Mac after the ‘Consolidation’ to the network drive, that the files and their metadata will be absolutely fine.

Results will be posted…

I plan to keep this up on MY MySpace page as a blog as well, so for those of you interested, click the link above, and check out my page.

Now for a little bit of my normal use of my computers, both work and home, as well as the setup of how my hardware is configured at both my home and in my office (without giving specific details of either network).

My home world is easier to work with first, so let me start there. I have a computer at home call ‘The-Doctor’. This is the machine I use for iTunes, backups (both work and home), my simple web sites (check out Gabbs.com if you care to) that I manage with Dreamweaver, editing home video with Quicktime, doing my surfing when at home using Firefox, and running Virtual Machines to test things out for work. I also use a Virtual Machine to do all my day to day work. The reason for this is because I’ve been using Windows long enough to realize that no matter how careful you are, you WILL catch a virus, or get some spyware, or some kind of stupid problem that means you have to rebuild your system…no getting around it. My old record, prior to Virtual Machines, was about 3-6 months using Windows XP Professional.

I have a 2nd system, call ‘Tardis’, which is a NAS (or Networked Attached Storage) device where I keep backups of all my data. The exception to that is that all my video is out on ‘Tardis’ because to keep it all on ‘The-Doctor’ would be a bit too troublesome.

Since we’re on the discussion of backups, what I do with backups…I run a full backup every month to ‘Tardis’, and then incremental backups every day to ‘Tardis’. This way, at the end of the month, I copy all the ‘backups’ to ‘The-Doctor’, burn them off to DVD, and start the process over again. Once things are backed up, I can be assured that I don’t lose any data (only someone who HAS lost data will do things to this extent, let me tell you!). Oh…and being SOOOO paranoid…I make 2 copies of each DVD that I create as a backup, one to leave at home, and one to leave at my office. I do this for both my work data and my personal data. It only takes a matter of a couple of hours to do this, while I’m doing other things, so it is not much of a time commitment, just a commitment to do the work every month.

At work, I’ve got my IBM ThinkPad T-42. It’s my 4th laptop in 5.5 years at my office. I would consider myself a road warrior, as I’m off on customer sites at least one-third of the time, up to one-half of the time. I use VMware Workstation a lot, Microsoft Office, Outlook for my e-mail, Microsoft Visio, things like Acrobat Reader, Winzip, Secure FTP, Putty, Magic ISO, Firefox, Thunderbird, and a couple of work specific appliations that require Microsoft’s .NET. I have a mix of physical machine use and Virtual Machine use to get me through the day at the office. I have a small insignificant problem when I travel away from home though, and that is my data does not go with me. This is due to the fact that I don’t really need or want to mix personal data with work data on a work owned machine. Really, it’s more of a ‘I don’t have the disk space to do so’ issue rather than a ‘I don’t want to mix the data on the same machine’ issue.

Now my goal is to be off Windows ENTIRELY in 2 months, so January 11th will be the deadline. I will be cutting over my work environment to the Mac sooner than that…I’m expecting the end of this month that the only way I’ll be using Windows at the office is SPECIFICALLY for things that I can not find a replacement for in OS X, things like my office’s home grown applications, specific web sites that REQUIRE Intenet Explorer, and other things that I’ll keep track of.

Some of the resources I’ll be using to help me through my trasition to the Mac. My buddy, let’s call him Ratbert. He’s been a Mac guy for a long time. Another Engineer at my office, let’s call him Dilbert. This is the kind of guy Unix/Linux loves. He can script, embrace, and communicate how to solve problems. Dilbert has a 2 week advantage over me, in that he got his new MacBook Pro ahead of me, but I’ve got an advantage over Dilbert because I’ve been looking into this for a year.

Ahh….the next chapter….coming soon to a web page near you…

I plan to keep this up on MY MySpace page as a blog as well, so for those of you interested, click the link above, and check out my page.

All right, so here’s the plan…for me to keep track of my transition from the Windows world to the OS X world. Keeping track of what I’ve done, software that I’ve used, things that I learn, how my data migration went, hardware components I used to do the migration, and hope to wrap up the totatl transition in 2 months. I’ve set a goal of 2 months, just due to the fact that I won’t be able to do EVERYTHING I want to do in a weekend, so I’ve set a realistic expectation of 2 months to NOT HAVE TO USE THIS WINDOWS GARBAGE ANYMORE!

Don’t get me wrong…I’ll still need to use a Windows XP Operating System for work (thanks to VMWare for providing the engine to do this!), but I’m must sick and tired of problematic things in the Windows world. Now with the appearance of Vista, I’m all set. Talk about double-talk and screwy licensing aggreements, and whatever they want to call that Windows Genuine Advantage On-Steroids thing. OK, so Windows don’t be gone from my world, but I’ll be using it at work for work specific function, and only when I have to. Oh…and I don’t plan on giving up my MCSE as I find it to be a valuable certification to have since I work in the IT world.

I’ve been seriously thinking about switching over to Apple’s OS X as my primary Operating System for about a year now. Seriously enough to have had a couple of Mac systems as a loaner to beat on for a month or so total. I had a Mac mini about a year ago for a couple of weeks. I liked it, but I just didn’t have time to dedicate to learning a new Operating System. I spent about a month running a developers copy of OS X in a VMware Virtual Machine. It ran dog slow, and had no internet connectivity. Even with those (major in my opinion) issues, I was still intrigued enough to hunt down a loaner system to try to use it as my main system for both work and home. In August, I borrowed a Macbook (not a Macbook Pro) from a friend for 3 weeks. It was the most painful experience for me to wipe it clean, and hand it back to my friend after my time with this laptop was up. (I would have bought the unit, but it had this ‘wierd’ random shutdown issue…hmmmm). Still…I noticed that my hand/wrist felt a lot better after using the Macbook for a few weeks. When I went back to using my IBM Thinkpad T-42, those wrist cramps started coming back.

Now, after using OS X for some time, I found myself longing for the system, as I was now without. To be truthful, the use of the Macbook during August was the turning point. So why wait till November to make the change? I was waiting for the 64-bit release of the MacBook Pro hardware. This way, my Virtual Machines, which I use on a daily basis, would be able to load the 64-bit versions, like Solaris 10 x86 64-bit. OK, maybe Windows Vista or Longhorn 64-bit too, but that will be to keep up my MCSE only.

I’d lay out the chapters that I plan to write here, but I’m gonna completely wing this one. I’ll add my notes to the blog as I go along. I do know that my next entry will have to do with how my home and office setups work, what I use a computer for at work, what I use a computer for at home, and the benfits that I’ll find when using a MacBook Pro as the only computer in my arsenal.

I plan to keep this up on MY MySpace page as a blog as well, so for those of you interested, click the link above, and check out my page.

First and foremost, let me tell you that I’m a huge fan of yours. My friend, you always seem to be there when needed. The perfect post-work cocktail, a beer at the game, and you’re even around in the holiday’s hidden inside chocolates as you warm us when we’re stuck in the midst of endless family gatherings. However, lately I’ve been wondering about your intentions. While I want to believe that you have my best interests at heart, I feel that your influence has led to some unwise consequences:

1. Phone calls: While I agree with you that communication is important, I question the suggestion that any conversation of substance or necessity takes place after 2 a.m. Why would you make me call those ex-boyfriends/girlfriends when I know for a fact they do not want to hear from me during the day, let alone all hours of the night?
(ok… not so much exes… more like good friends that wake up just to talk to me when I drive home!)

2. Eating: Now, you know I love a good meal, but why do you suggest that I eat a taco with chili sauce, along with a big Italian meatball and some stale chips (washed down with WINE & topped off with a Kit Kat after a few cheese curls & chili cheese fries)? I’m an eclectic eater, but I think you went too far this time.
( or SAUSAGE!!… yes, I really mean the food sausage!)

3. Clumsiness: Unless you’re subtly trying to tell me that I need to do more yoga to improve my balance, I see NO need to hammer the issue home by causing me to fall down. It’s completely unnecessary, and the black & blue marks that appear on my body mysteriously the next day are beyond me. Similarly, it should never take me more than 45 seconds to get the front door key into the lock.

4. Furthermore: The hangovers have GOT to stop. This is getting ridiculous. I know a little penance for our previous evening’s debauchery may be in order, but the 3pm hangover mobility is completely unacceptable. My entire day is shot. I ask that, if the proper precautions are taken (water, vitamin B, bread products, aspirin) prior to going to sleep/passing out face down on the kitchen floor with a bag of popcorn, the hangover should be minimal & in no way interfere with my daily activities.

Alcohol, I have enjoyed our friendship for some years now & would like to ensure that we remain on good terms. You’ve been the invoker of great stories, the provocation for much laughter, and the needed companion when I just don’t know what to do with the extra money in my pockets. In order to continue this friendship, I ask that you carefully review my grievances above & address them immediately. I will look for an answer no later than Thursday 3pm (pre-happy hour) on your possible solutions & hopefully we can continue this fruitful partnership.

She was Soooooooo Blonde .
* She thought a quarterback was a refund.
* She thought General Motors was in the army.
* She thought Meow Mix was a CD for cats.
* She thought Boyz II Men was a day care center.
* At the bottom of an application where it says “Sign here:” she wrote “Sagittarius.”

She Was Soooooooooooooo Blonde… * She took the ruler to bed to see how long she slept.
* She sent a fax with a stamp on it.
* Under “education” on her job application, she put “Hooked On Phonics.

She was Sooooooooooooooooo Blonde…
* She tripped over a cordless phone.
* She spent 20 minutes looking at the orange juice can because it said “Concentrate.”
* She told me to meet her at the corner of “WALK” and “DON’T WALK.”
* She tried to put M&M’s in alphabetical order.

She was Soooooooooooooooooooo Blonde…
* She studied for a blood test.
* She sold the car for gas money.
* When she missed bus ..44 she took bus ..22 twice instead.
* When she went to the airport and saw a sign that said, “Airport Left,” she turned around and went home.

She Was Sooooooooooooooooooooo Blonde…
* When she heard that 90f all crimes occur around the home, she moved.
* She thought if she spoke her mind, she’d be speechless.
* She thought that she could not use her AM radio in the evening.
* She had a shirt that said “TGIF,” which she thought stood for “This Goes In Front.”

Day 183 of my captivity… My captors continued to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects.

They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while I am forced to eat dry cereal. The only thing that keeps me going is the hope of escape, and the mild satisfaction that I get from clawing their furniture.

Tomorrow I will eat another houseplant.

Today my attempt to kill my captors by weaving around their feet while they were walking almost succeeded – must try this at the top of the stairs.

In an attempt to disgust and repulse these vile oppressors, I once again induced myself to vomit on their favorite chair. I must remember to try this on their bed.

Decapitated a mouse and brought them the headless body in an attempt to make them aware of what I am capable of, and to try to strike fear in their hearts. They only cooed and condescended about what a good little cat I was. Hmmm, this did not work according to plan.

There was some sort of gathering of their accomplices. I was placed in solitary throughout the event. However, I could hear the noise and smell the food. More important, I overheard that my confinement was due to my powers of inducing “allergies.” I must learn what this is and how I may use it to my advantage.

I am convinced the other captives are flunkies and maybe snitches. The dog is routinely released and seems more than happy to return He is obviously a half-wit.

The bird, on the other hand, has got to be an informant and speaks with them regularly. I am certain he reports my every move. Due to his current placement in the metal room, his safety is assured. But I have patience, I can wait, it is only a matter of time…

Keep this in mind the next time you either hear or are about to repeat a rumor! In ancient Greece (469 – 399 BC), Socrates was well known for his wisdom.

One day the great philosopher came upon an acquaintance who said excitedly,

“Socrates, do you know what I just heard about one of your students?” Wait a moment,” Socrates replied. “Before telling me anything I’d like you to pass a little test. It’s called the Triple Filter Test.

Triple filter?”

“That’s right,” Socrates continued “Before you talk to me about my student, it might be a good idea to take a moment and filter what you’re going to say..

The first filter is Truth. Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?”

No,” the man said, “actually I just heard about it and …”

“All right,” said Socrates. “So you don’t really know if it’s true or not. Now let’s try the second filter, the filter of Goodness.

Is what you are about to tell me about my student something good?”

“No, on the contrary …” .

“So,” Socrates continued, “you want to tell me something bad about him, but you’re not certain it’s true. You may still pass the test though, because there’s one filter left: the filter of Usefulness.

Is what you want to tell me about my student going to be useful to me?”

“No, not really.”

“Well,” concluded Socrates, “if what you want to tell me is neither true nor good nor even useful, why tell it to me at all?”

This is the reason Socrates was a great philosopher and held in such high esteem.

It also explains why he never found out that Plato was banging his wife.

….alright, I liked this. Found this from my friend Dan down in Texas…Thanks Dude! http://www.myspace.com/jyahld

Never figured Home Depot would be out screwing the little guy….Don’t plan on leaving with your floorplan that you draw on THIER paper in THEIR buildings.

Wonder if you can get arrested for stealing dust?
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http://www.volunteertv.com/Global/story.asp?S=4148708

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=bizarre&id=3654039

Home Depot apologizes for banning carpenter who took a pencil
Methuen, MA (AP) – Home Depot has apologized to a carpenter in Massachusetts who was banned by the chain for absent-mindedly pocketing a pencil.

Michael Panorelli says he was with a client and had just bought some lumber from a Home Depot in Lawrence last week.

Panorelli says he needed to do some quick math, so the client handed him a pencil sitting next to the register. Afterward, he absent-mindedly put it in his pocket.

Panorelli says he was met in the parking lot by a worker who gave him two letters. One told him he was banned from Home Depot stores worldwide because of shoplifting. The other said he’d be hearing from the company’s lawyers.

Panorelli told his story to the Eagle-Tribune newspaper.

After the story ran, home depot issued a written apology, blaming the incident on a narrow interpretation of its shoplifting-prevention rules. Still, Panorelli says he has no intention of doing business there again.

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http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=bizarre&id=3653904

Home Depot apologizes to pencil thief
(11/21/05 – METHUEN, MA) – Home Depot Inc. apologized to a carpenter who was banned by the chain worldwide after he absent-mindedly pocketed a pencil he had used up to do some quick math. Michael Panorelli, 51, of Lawrence, was accused of shoplifting from the Methuen store last Thursday and banned from Home Depots.

Panorelli was with a client and had just bought some lumber when the client picked up the pencil sitting next to a cash register for Panorelli to use. Panorelli pocketed the pencil and was met in the parking lot by a worker who asked for identification.

The worker presented Panorelli with one letter saying he was banned from Home Depot, and another advising that he would be hearing from the company’s lawyers.

Panorelli took his story to the Eagle-Tribune newspaper in Lawrence, which published it over the weekend.

On Sunday, Atlanta-based Home Depot issued a written apology, saying the incident was prompted by a narrow interpretation of its shoplifting-prevention rules.

“We will not be pursuing any claims against Mr. Panorelli for this incident,” the statement said. “We welcome Mr. Panorelli back as a customer in our stores at any time.”

But the carpenter said he had no intention of doing business there again, adding, “Why should I put money in someone’s pocket when they treat me like this?”

NEW YORK Thanks to the daily newspaper in Lawrence, Ma., a local carpenter will not be banned from worldwide Home Depots for life–for absent-mindedly sticking a pencil from one of the stores in his pocket.

Home Depot Inc. has apologized to a carpenter, Michael Panorellis, 51, of Lawrence, who was banned by the chain worldwide after he pocketed a pencil he had used to do some quick math. “We will not be pursuing any claims against Mr. Panorelli for this incident,” the statement said. “We welcome Mr. Panorelli back as a customer in our stores at any time.”

But Panorelli said he had no intention of doing business there again, adding, “Why should I put money in someone’s pocket when they treat me like this?”

Panorelli was accused of shoplifting from the Methuen store last Thursday. He was with a client and had just bought some lumber when the client picked up the pencil sitting next to a cash register for Panorelli to use. Panorelli ended up holding on to the pencil and was met in the parking lot by a worker who asked for identification, then presented him a letter saying he was banned from Home Depot. He gave him another letter advising that he would be hearing from the company’s lawyers.

Panorelli took his story to the Eagle-Tribune newspaper in Lawrence, which published it over the weekend.

In response, Atlanta-based Home Depot issued a written apology, saying the incident was prompted by a narrow interpretation of its shoplifting-prevention rules.